How well do Solar Panels Work in the winter?

Solar panels have been used by many households for a long time now. They are one of the preferred modes of producing energy that is used in houses for purposes of lighting and heating. Despite the fact that it has helped many to save considerable amounts of money when it comes to energy bills, most think that solar panels only work best in sun adored areas. Meaning when it comes to cold seasons like winter many ask the questions like how well these panels perform or do they even work at all. This is because many people think that solar panels make use of heat from the sun. The truth is that is not how they work.

Remove Snow From Panels

Solar panels make use of sunlight and not the heat. Given that they use light and not the heat from the sun, solar panels will basically work well during the winter season provided that the owner removes the snow that may fall on it. What can happen during the cold the season is that the energy levels are likely to fall due to the fact that days during the winter season are shorter compared to the summer. This means that the panels are exposed to sunlight for a few less hours during winter.

The amount of energy produced by the solar panel depends largely on the size of the panel itself, the position of your place from the equator and how efficient your wires are in terms of energy delivery. If for instance you have a 5kw (kilowatt) solar panel exposed to light for 5 hours produces 25kwh (h stands for hours). But that is not the energy you get in the house because there is loss of about 30% in the grid system. This loss brings it down to around 17.5kwh in a single day, per month you will get 525kwh and in a year 6300kwh. Therefore, depending on how many hours of sun your area gets during winter and the size of your solar panel, you can calculate and get a rough figure of the energy you will get.